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Helen Shaver
Helen Shaver served as a director for a single episode during the first season of Reign. Life and Career Helen Shaver has built a lasting legacy both behind and in front of the camera. She has directed hundreds of hours of television ranging from Law & Order: SVU to Castle, from The Unit to Outer Limits. Her film Summer's End, a Showtime feature starring James Earl Jones, won multiple Emmy awards for Best Picture, Best Actor and Helen was nominated for her direction. Her producing credits include Judging Amy for CBS, Showtime's Due East starring Cybill Shepherd and Robert Forster and the independent feature We All Fall Down, for which she also received a Best Supporting Actress award. It was Martin Scorsese who first suggested Helen direct. Working with him and other such greats as Steven Spielberg, Robert Rodriguez, Sam Peckinpah, Brian De Palma, Helen amassed a wealth of knowledge and experience in the collaborative world of cinematic storytelling. Helen first appeared on the silver screen at 22 years old, starring in a series of award-winning Canadian films; Best Supporting Actress for Who Has Seen The Wind and Best Actress for In Praise of Older Women. Hollywood took note and in 1977 she co-starred in the original Amityville Horror directed by Stuart Rosenberg. Larry Gelbart's United States, Martin Scorsese's, The Color of Money, John Schlesinger's The Believers, Donna Deitch's Desert Hearts, Andrew Fleming's The Craft, and a trip to China with Donald Sutherland to realize Bethune: The Making of a Hero broadened her education. MAWD (Mother Actress Wife Director), Helen's production company, has three theatrical features in development, as well as a feature-length documentary. MAWD continues to expand becoming an umbrella for young filmmakers who Helen has mentored.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Helen Shaver This Canadian actress started acting as a late teen in theatre, receiving critical acclaim in her homeland over the years. Hollywood has not been as generous. Although she has worked alongside some of Hollywood's biggest stars, including Dudley Moore and Eddie Murphy in Best Defense (1984), Tom Cruise and Paul Newman in The Color of Money (1986), Martin Sheen in The Believers (1987), and Peter Boyle in Born to Be Wild (1995), it has been her gutsy, more potent portrayals back home that have reaped the trophies and respect. So far she has won bookend Genie Awards for both "Best Actress" in In Praise of Older Women (1978)and "Supporting Actress" in We All Fall Down (2000). Helen has always courted controversy, none more so than for her sexually-charged role in the afore-mentioned film In Praise of Older Women and for her later performance in Desert Hearts (1985) which featured a torrid lesbian love scene that is still considered one of the most erotic in movie history. Helen eventually stepped behind the camera, directing television segments of "The Outer Limits," "Judging Amy" and "Joan of Arcadia" among many others. Raised in a small city in Ontario, about 120 miles southwest of Toronto, Ontario with her five sisters, Helen suffered from rheumatic fever as a child and was forced to spend six months of each year in bed. She says this triggered her imagination and desire to become an actress. In 1992 Helen received a Theatre World Award for her Broadway stage role in "Jake's Women." Her third husband is key grip Steve Smith and they have one son. Reign Credits Director Category:Crew Category:Director Category:Backstage